We exploit wide-field Ly$alpha$ imaging with Subaru to probe the environment around TN J1338-1942, a powerful radio galaxy with a >100 kpc Ly$alpha$ halo at z=4.11. We used a sample of Ly$alpha$ emitters (LAEs) down to $log(L_{rm Lyalpha} [erg, s^{-1
}])sim 42.8$ to measure the galaxy density around TNJ1338, compared to a control sample from a blank field taken with the same instrument. We found that TNJ1338 resides in a region with a peak overdensity of $delta_{rm LAE}=2.8pm 0.5$ on scales of $8, h^{-1}rm Mpc$ (on the sky) and $112, h^{-1}rm Mpc$ (line of sight) in comoving coordinates. Adjacent to this overdensity, we found a strong underdensity where virtually no LAEs are detected. We used a semi-analytical model of LAEs derived from the Millennium Simulation to compare our results with theoretical predictions. While the theoretical density distribution is consistent with the blank field, overdense regions such as that around TNJ1338 are very rare, with a number density of $6.4times 10^{-8}rm Mpc^{-3}$ (comoving), corresponding to the densest < 0.4 percentile at $zsimeq 4.1$. We also found that the Ly$alpha$ luminosity function in the TNJ1338 field differs from that in the blank field: the number of bright LAEs ($log(L_{rm Lyalpha}[erg,s^{-1}]) gtrsim 43.3$) is enhanced, while the number of fainter LAEs is relatively suppressed. These results suggest that some powerful radio galaxies associated with Ly$alpha$ nebulae reside in extreme overdensities on $sim 3$--$6, rm Mpc$ scales, where star-formation and AGN activity may be enhanced via frequent galaxy mergers or high rates of gas accretion from the surroundings.
We carried out extended spectroscopic confirmations of Ly-alpha emitters (LAEs) at z=6.5 and 5.7 in the Subaru Deep Field. Now, the total number of spectroscopically confirmed LAEs is 45 and 54 at z=6.5 and 5.7, respectively, and at least 81% (70%) o
f our photometric candidates at z=6.5 (5.7) have been spectroscopically identified as real LAEs. We made careful measurements of the Ly-alpha luminosity, both photometrically and spectroscopically, to accurately determine the Ly-alpha and rest-UV luminosity functions (LFs). The substantially improved evaluation of the Ly-alpha LF at z=6.5 shows an apparent deficit from z=5.7 at least at the bright end, and a possible decline even at the faint end, though small uncertainties remain. The rest-UV LFs at z=6.5 and 5.7 are in good agreement, at least at the bright end, in clear contrast to the differences seen in the Ly-alpha LF. These results imply an increase in the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium from z=5.7 to 6.5. The rest-frame equivalent width (EW_0) distribution at z=6.5 seems to be systematically smaller than z=5.7, and it shows an extended tail toward larger EW_0. The bright end of the rest-UV LF can be reproduced from the observed Ly-alpha LF and a reasonable EW_0-UV luminosity relation. Integrating this rest-UV LF provides the first measurement of the contribution of LAEs to the photon budget required for reionization. The derived UV LF suggests that the fractional contribution of LAEs to the photon budget among Lyman break galaxies significantly increases towards faint magnitudes. Low-luminosity LAEs could dominate the ionizing photon budget, though this inference depends strongly on the uncertain faint-end slope of the Ly-alpha LF.
